Bristol prostitution ring: Four people sentenced

Four people have been sentenced after trafficking a woman from Germany and running a prostitution ring.

The gang had more than £100,000 in a bank account and were discovered when police stopped a car with a woman sitting in the back in her nightwear.

Marin Grigore, Alexandru Dita, Mirela Mincu and Adriana Dita arranged for women to sell sexual services from their rented homes in Easton, Bristol.

All four admitted their involvement and were sentenced at Bristol Crown Court.

Marin Grigore, Alexandru Dita, Mirela Mincu and Adriana Dita entered guilty pleas to various offences at Bristol Crown Court

The operation was discovered when Grigore, 29, of Tudor Road, Bristol, and his brother-in-law, Alexandru Dita, were stopped by police on Broad Weir, in Bristol, in the early hours of 28 July, on suspicion of driving without insurance.

On the backseat of the BMW officers found a 19-year-old woman sitting next to a suitcase, which raised their suspicions.

Checks on the police national computer revealed Alexandru Dita had previous convictions for human trafficking offences and both men were arrested.

Officers attended properties on Bloy Street and Tudor Road, where they found Grigore's wife, Mirela Mincu, his sister Adriana Dita, and five women who told the officers they were sex workers.

Financial investigations found that more than £100,000 had passed through the bank accounts of Mincu and Alexandru Dita in the preceding 12 months, while significant sums of money were also deposited into the accounts of Grigore and Adriana Dita.

• Grigore was jailed for 21 months for conspiracy to control prostitution for gain, arranging or facilitating travel of a person with a view to exploitation and acquiring and using and/or possessing criminal property.

• Alexandru Dita, 30, of Roman Road, Bristol, was jailed for two years for conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and using and/or possessing criminal property.

• Mirela Mincu, 32, also of Roman Road, Bristol was jailed for 23 months, suspended for two years, for conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and using and/or possessing criminal property. She is also subject to a three month curfew and must carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

• Adriana Dita, 26, also of Roman Road, was given a 12 month community order requiring her to do 50 hours of unpaid work for using and/or possessing criminal property.

'Brought to justice'

Det Insp Mark Newbury, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "As a result of some great work by one of our roads policing officers who recognised there was more than met the eye when he stopped a suspicious car, we have successfully dismantled a prostitution ring which saw at least one woman trafficked from abroad to work in brothels.

"Grigore and Alexandru Dita were clearly the ring leaders of the operation which saw them make huge sums of money from women selling sexual services.

"None of those involved were able to account for their bank balances, with only Grigore apparently having a job, cleaning cars for £50 a day.

"I hope this case shows how committed we are to ensuring those who exploit vulnerable people are brought to justice."